NEW HAVEN -- Hundreds of union leaders were generally polite to GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley, but greeted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with cheers and three standing ovations Monday during the biennial political convention of the state AFL-CIO.

And while the Greenwich businessman got stuck explaining his proposed variation of a "Wisconsin moment" that represents fighting words to organized labor, Malloy said his record is a "Connecticut moment" that has helped support union workers.

And after his 20-minute address, Malloy drove the issue home with reporters, charging Foley with supporting the kind of union-busting that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker accomplished in 2011.

"What I'm clearly saying is that there's a very different approach to what it's going to take for Connecticut to move forward," Malloy said outside, "and very different than the Republican take on things. I think Tom Foley, when he said that he wanted a `Wisconsin moment,' it wasn't about encouraging people to eat cheese. We all know what that meant. He knew what it meant. What he was talking about was going after labor, which I equate to going after the middle class of the United States.

"A Connecticut moment is when you stand up for your fellow citizens," Malloy told about 450 union leaders and supporters gathered in the unionized Omni Hotel. "When you understand that they too have rights; that we can move forward together, and in fact when we don't move forward together, we move backward."

Malloy bragged about major investments in transportation; in public education, leading to increased high school graduations rates; and about leading the state to the nation's first $10.10 minimum wage, which is scheduled to will take effect in January 2017.

Malloy also said though tax hikes occurred in response to the multibillion-dollar deficit he inherited upon taking office, he did not shift additional burdens to local governments, as other states have, so union members in town and city government did not lose jobs.

Foley, invited to the event as the endorsed gubernatorial candidate after last month's Republican convention, promised he would not lay off state employees to balance the budget.

During an address punctuated by brief, critical laughter and culminating in tepid applause, Foley promised to adhere to union agreements.

"I'm a good listener and I'm a straight talker," said Foley, who is in a three-way, Aug. 12 primary for the party nomination with Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield. "If you have my word on something, you can count on it. We need to bring more and better jobs to Connecticut."

The annual convention comes at a time when, nationally, unions wounded by conservative efforts to strip them of bargaining power are pushing back.

Stephanie Bloomingdale, secretary-treasurer of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, told the convention in New Haven that Walker, who successfully attacked unions three years ago, is in for a close re-election race, while nationally, the tide is turning in favor of labor.

"They came for us in Wisconsin and they're coming for you," Bloomingdale said during morning remarks. "Now it's time for you to step up."

Her address also ended in a standing ovation in the hotel ballroom, as did an afternoon speech by national American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees President Lee Saunders that was essentially a crowd warm-up for Malloy.

Saunders also teed off on Foley's reference to a "Wisconsin moment," charging that union workers are fighting for more than their contracts.

"You know what? If not us, who?" Saunders said. "If not now, when? We are agitators in this country and sometimes we're the trouble-makers because that's who we are."

Foley denied that a "Wisconsin moment" would include union-busting.

"Looking for a `Wisconsin moment' in Connecticut, which I've talked about repeatedly, means I am hoping we go from one-party rule to more-balanced government, as Wisconsin did in 2010," he said.

Several union leaders, with their arms crossed among dozens of rows of desks, laughed sarcastically.

"There is no doubt that organized labor is an important component of our economy," he said in an interview. "It's important if we are to turn around Connecticut's economy that they have a seat at the table."

Pelletier, in an interview, said Wisconsin in 2011, "was a huge wake-up call" for union members whose organizations are protected by law. "One election cycle and ... a governor, a president of the United States or a Supreme Court justice can change how unions are able to operate," she said.